Life filtered through the lens of an INTJ, Mom, and healthcare professional.

And the Award Goes to….

Please pour a coffee or tea and take a look at LeSha’s blog – I somehow found it as she started writing and have been a fan since. Her range speaks to a broad audience without diluting the spirit of her message. That is all I’ll say … so take a peek. 🙂

The Semper Fidelis, as an award, was new to me so I did a bit of research on it. It seems to come with either no requirements, other than thanking the person who nominated you, to doing a triple back flip through flaming hoops (six of them, 2 feet in diameter) off of a 3 meter board, in a country named that is lax on aquatic facility regulation, because there is no water required in the pool. I opted to stay away from either extreme, staying inline with the theme of the award.

Semper Fidelis is the Latin phrase meaning “Always Faithful.” As a writer, with my trusty dictionary and thesaurus, “faithful” could take one of 2 turns: correct or loyal. I see it as both. The people nominated for this award are those who have been “Always Faithful” to us in our writing endeavors. The values of authenticity, honesty, dependability, consistency are valuable qualities in blog-world and in life.

Following this model, I will identify 5 people who have instrumental in my development and persistance as a blogger and say how they impacted me, if not directly, by inference. I do not discriminate against blogs that post “award free blog” from nominations. I nominate as a compliment. You may decline. (I realize this award is not the Pulitzer, but my neighbor that has several accepts handpicked bouquets of flowers from the neighborhood children 😉 . )

My very first subscriber, a fellow INTJ, mom, and public health advocate (like me!) – But also a physician, published, award-winning, fiction author, now with her second novel on the way. Oh, who? Carrie Rubin. How this woman manages to write, tweet, care for her boys, respond to her fans, dispense sage wisdom – I will never know. But her enthusiasm and encouragement to everyone is inspiring. If you haven’t read The Seneca Scourge, put it on your reading list! I am a medical novel junkie – it’s great to read one, enjoy the excitement, and not have to mentally correct the medical errors ;). The Write Transition is the name of Carrie’s blog.

Wind Against Current, a blog by Vladimir Brezina and Johna Till Johnson, is incredible. It is about nature, kayaking, photography, science – and encourages you to look at life from a different perspective. I personally find the juxtaposition of nature and New York City fascinating. Their busy lives don’t stop them from participating in the blogs of others and answering questions and comments. Inspiring! (I think they have every award – probably even a Pulitzer – too many for me to sort through. 😉 )

Simone at http://charcoalblue.wordpress.com has been a quiet inspiration for me. She is uncovering her artistic talent – real talent – as I work to break away from my scientific writing mode into, well, non-scientific. (OK, creative writing.) She’s taken on a new adventure in her life, so take a peek and catch up with her nueva aventura. I know she will have some great tales to tell. And hopefully some more art to show as she settles in.

http://nepaliaustralian.com – One day I will read your entire blog. The reason I started my blog was to tell the story of my daughter’s adoption from Nepal. I am still unable to write the story. But reading about your experiences in Nepal, putting voice to the thoughts that have been rambling around my head, have kept me blogging. I may not be writing the story – yet – but I am getting warmed up. Nepal is a confusing country; seventeen years have gone by and I am still trying to sort through some things that happened there. Your blog and your voice are a support for me. Namaste.

1. Display on your blog, 2. link back to sponsor, 3. nominate up to five fellow bloggers

Please accept the nominations for the Semper Fidelis Award and know that your words, pictures, comments and presence in the blogging world have encouraged me to keep moving toward a goal that has been set for many years. Once it is accomplished, you will see why it was such a difficult task.

Thank you to everyone who reads, clicks and comments. I appreciate the time you take to stop and look at my blog as I wander ….

“So we follow our wandering paths,

and the very darkness acts as our guide and our doubts serve to reassure us.”

Congratulations to you and thank you for choosing me to be one of your 5. It does a heart good to hear such nice words about yourself so thank you so much for that. I will definitely pass on this award (once I find my feet on the other side of the world). Muchos gracias!

Such a nice thing to say. (I’m going to sneak a note in here and say you both have careers that are great interests of mine…more than photography 🙂 Though I do enjoy other people’s pictures! I usually forget I have a camera with me … too few photos.

Wow, thank you so much! Both for the nomination and your kind words. What a lovely surprise to find. (And thank you for the book shout-out, too. 🙂 ) I’ve kind of given up the blog-award thing since I was getting too lax on putting the posts together to accept them, but the recognition is always, always appreciated.

The other bloggers’ sites you listed sound intriguing. I’ll have to check them out. I didn’t know you adopted a child from Nepal. Would be a fascinating story, I’m sure. Oh, and by the way, I loved the following phrase of yours: “lax on aquatic facility regulation.” Written like a true INTJ. 🙂

Yes, my daughter is 1/2 of an identical twin set. My first degree was psych – imagine that – I had my own little control group for a nature vs nurture longitudinal study. (DNA all the way!) Plus some kind of connection we can’t explain…